Why the Qwest/CenturyTel Merger?

"Qwest Communications sale to Louisiana-based CenturyTel for a sizeable $10.6 billion unites two secondary players in the declining landline market. The purpose of this deal is largely defensive, seeing how the demand for traditional phone service is drying up, especially among consumers," writes Bruce Tyson on Helium.com.

"Telecommunications analysts note that neither Qwest not CenturyTel are much in the way of excitement. Neither firm has anything to offer customers in the way of new products and services. Furthermore, the combined size of the new company is not intended to be used to compete against any of the major players. This leaves cost savings as the primary motivation for completing the acquisition deal," Tyson writes.